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Cannabis conundrum: Three Canadian arguments a month after legalization

It’s been a month since cannabis was legalized in Canada, and so far, there has been a few bumps in the road.

Here are three issues Canadians have been debating relating to minimum age, where to buy and smoking and driving. Vote in the three polls below and leave a comment with your thoughts!

Minimum Age

The federal government set the minimum legal age to purchase cannabis at 18-years-old, but every province and territory is at their own discretion to raise that age. Alberta and Quebec are the only two provinces that adhered to the minimum age set by the federal government while most other provinces set the age at 19, including Ontario.

QUIZ: How well do you know basic pot rules across Canada?

A new survey from Angus Reid suggests that about three-quarters of Canadians believe the minimum age for cannabis should be higher than 18.

Angus Reid
Angus Reid

Although 27 per cent of Canadians think the minimum age should be 18, the majority of Canadians would a higher age – 40 per cent opt for 20 or older.

So we want to know – what do you think the legal age for cannabis should be?

Impaired driving

While some feared that cannabis legalization would lead to an increase in impaired driving and accidents, early data collected by The Canadian Press shows that police have not seen a spike in cannabis-impaired driving.


What the outlet found, however, is that Canadians need better education around storing marijuana in vehicles and what passengers can and cannot do. For instance, in Ontario and British Columbia, passengers cannot smoke marijuana and in most provinces, weed must not be able to be in reach of the driver.

FULL COVERAGE: Legalization of marijuana in Canada

With legalization still in its early days, do you think that cannabis-impaired driving will increase?

Buying online vs. in a store

While most provinces in Canada have brick-and-mortar cannabis retail locations, Ontario remains the exception with online purchases only until April 2019.

Purchasing online can have its pitfalls, as evidenced by the recent data breach at the Ontario Cannabis Store that affected about 4,500 customers.

Ontario Cannabis Store
Ontario Cannabis Store

“Since Nov. 1, the OCS has worked closely with Canada Post to identify the cause of this issue and to prevent any further unauthorized access to customer delivery information,” the OCS said to CBC News.

Expect no quick end to Canada-wide cannabis shortages, producers warn

If both options were available to you, would you prefer to buy cannabis products in a store, where you could pay by cash, or online?

With a month of legalization under Canada’s belt, let us know how you’re feeling about the proliferation of weed: Has it helped or hurt us? Is it too early to say? Tell us what you think in the comments.